kikenyoy

I like the show หัวใจใกล้กัน. It is a pbs show that deals mostly with family matters. Each episode is only about 10-15 minutes long and they have Thai subtitles so you can read along as you watch. There are dozens of episodes on youtube.

Those are the 3 most obvious areas. One more that I would include is rhythm, meaning which words you group together, where you pause, etc. I've heard a few farang speak that have decent pronunciation but are hard to listen to because they talk like this: pom, kuhy kit, wa khun ja. etc.

Rikker,

I've experienced a progression similar to what you wrote. I've heard #'s 1,2,3,6. Now when someone tells me พูดไทยเก่ง I get insulted.

I have one to add to the list. Last week I was talking to a fruit seller and had to say something beyond the usual small talk. The vendor next to him said พูดแข็งแรง when I finished. I'm guessing it should fit in about #3 or 4 on your list.

hmm, I don't know about recorders like that, but you can use a free program to rip the audio from youtube videos then use audacity (also free) to break it into smaller pieces and play it on your mp3. There are tons of Thai videos on youtube in every genre. I would ask your teacher for recommendations.

BTW, does your friend have a website or something similar? 22 languages fluently?!?! I don't think even StuJay claims that. I'm skeptical but would love to be proven wrong.

I think the middle part might be written correctly, with "don" being " โดน"

(if you) don't believe me, you're going to get smacked. understand?

Possibly.. but it's "โดนตบ".. (dohn dtohp).. which is past tense..

If it doesn't have a "จะ" (ja) or a "เดี๋ยว" (diaao) coming before the "โดนตบ" (dohn dtohp) to make it future tense, then it's meaning is past tense.

Of course, if there's an implied "if you" at the beginning, then perhaps the writer meant to imply a "ja" before the "dohn dtohp", as well?

Even if it's actually "โดนตบหน้า" (did slap face), there's still a confusing grammar/tense problem with the sentence.

Anyway, this is still a very good example of how badly things can get confused with Karaoke Thai & Tinglish mashups.. JUST SAY NO! 5555

Yeah, that's how I was interpreting it: "if you...... then..........

I never even considered na as being "face" since it's usually written as "naa", and the first na doesn't make sense as "face" . I think it is the particle na which was being used to make it conditional. The first na makes it "if you don't believe me". The second na makes it a warning for the future "you are going to get hit" (so no need for ja)

Like you said, SO easy to get confused reading karaoke.

I think the middle part might be written correctly, with "don" being " โดน"

(if you) don't believe me, you're going to get smacked. understand?

Students learn in a fast, effective manner using the Step System which is based on the tried and tested Communicative Approach - with an emphasis on memorizing and using grammatical structures with practical vocabulary and correct pronunciation. A critical part of our lessons is the 'production' segment, where students practice speaking using the language they have just studied, while integrating it with other Thai they know. On the Thai Course you'll acquire solid skills that let you communicate with Thai people as fast as possible. You will literally be speaking right from your very first lesson, then building on this step by step.

From what I've read on their site and from Tod's glowing reviews, Language Express looks like one of the best Thai schools out there. Time will tell, but they are certainly heads above the schools I've heard about.

I agree with desi.

Jez,

Do you have plans to open a school in Pattaya? I haven't been too impressed with the schools I've seen here.

I'm glad to see the return of this series. I bought books 1 and 3 and liked them both, especially #3. I felt 2 was pretty basic and WAY overpriced.

After the first few lines I was really interested in this one and my only thought was "please let it have audio"...but, no. Still this looks interesting enough to buy. Like you say, maybe one of us can get it recorded somehow.

The publishers might not be interested in English translations but I'm sure the members here would be!

Thanks again for bringing books to our attention that we wouldn't find otherwise.

น้ำไหลไฟดับ fluently, talk excessively

I wouldn't call it a "permanent" fix, but I use the add-on for firefox and it works pretty well. For any page that has Thai text, right click the mouse and one of the options is "increase Thai text size". It usually makes it quite readable. You can increase it multiple times if necessary. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/13106/

Nice find. Thanks Klons.

Thanks Klons! That program works much better than the one I was using.

Do you know how to download videos from thaipbs? I agree about the subtitle quality. I got them from youtube since they are so easy to download.

หัวใจใกล้กัน is a tv show on Thai PBS that covers mostly family topics. The great thing about it is it is subtitled in Thai. Listening comprehension is my weakest skill so having the subtitles is a huge benefit to me. There are over 20 shows on youtube with most being 10-15 minutes long.

I've never heard 'Pak Talat' before. What does it mean?

Before I lost a bunch of weight I used to have this problem too. If they weren't too rude then I would do my best to ignore them even though it bothered me. If t felt like they were over the line then I would either get mad and fight back or try to explain why I didn't like what they said...neither of which did any good. Then I found a different strategy...be complimentary! Since it was almost always women who would make the comments I would compliment them on their very, very dark skin or their really flat noses., which are features that Thai women hate.

Another tip is to use the insults as motivation. It was low on my list of reasons to lose weight but when I heard them I would just say to myself "Good. Go ahead and say it now because you'll only be able to for another 6 months".

Thanks Simon.

I found this abbreviation in a transcript from a Q&A with PM Abhisit. I've checked several places and can't find it anywhere.

I did a google search for "thai abbreviations" and found this site: http://www.abbreviations.com/acronyms/THAI/1 which lists 490 acronyms and the full version, but unfortunately no translations. กอส wasn't listed though.

I've found that movies that have Thai subtitles are more useful for learning since you can read exactly what they say and look up the unknown vocabulary. But, to answer your question:

Movies with Thai and English subs

Faen Chan (new version w/ red cover)

Dream Team

Last Life in the Universe

English subs only

Romantic Blue

SARS WARS

(there are a bunch more but I just moved and they are still packed away. These are the only two I could remember)

If you search "Thai movie" on youtube you will find a bunch of Thai movies w/ English subs.

Muay Thai is in the dictionary (at least in dictionary.com).

Following softwater's lead, I looked up "satay" and it is in there, but it is a Malay word.

In Pattaya foreigners (including the foreign media) call them baht buses. Thais usually call them สองแถว.

Thank you both for the help.

A friend asked me if I could translate this to Thai but it's a bit beyond my current level:

STRICTLY NO UNATTENDED PARKING IN THIS AREA

Please do not park in this area with your car unattended This area is for pick up & drop off as well as emergency services. Thank you for your future co-operation.

Thanks for any help.

A little off topic... what's the difference between ซุ้ม and ส่วนโค้ง?

Coincidentally, this week's stack of flash cards had ส่วนโค้ง and here with this post, I see another word for arch.

I've wondered about this too. I live near the arch in Jomthien Beach so it's a convenient landmark when I give directions. I asked my teacher and she said use "สะพาน". For those who haven't seen it, it is an arch that goes over the street and says "Jomthien Beach", but it is a sign only, people can't walk on it. If that is a "สะพาน", then when do you use the words ส่วนโค้ง or ซุ้ม ?

Thanks Gaccha... this looks really interesting. Can you give a list of the 5 topics?

I'm planning on going to Bangkok in a few weeks to go book shopping so if you can possibly finish your recommendations by then I'd really appreciate it!

Since this is turning into a "good Thai movies" discussion...

เรื่องตลก 69 reuang dta-lok hok gaao "A funny story about 69" (English title: 6ixty-nin9) is a great movie--I did think it got a bit disappointing towards the end though.

I almost included it on my list, but I feel the same way about the ending. I laughed hard several times during the movie and was really enjoying it, until the ending which I hated.